Your school chum’s not asking about you: Classmates.com sued

No, your old high school buddies really weren't trying to contact you. …

"Your former classmates are trying to contact you! Upgrade now to see their messages!" That's the pitch many of us have seen from Classmates.com as a lure to pony up for a subscription. At least one former customer says that the claims are fraudulent and has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. Depending on how the case moves forward, it could have an impact on how Classmates.com, and other sites, advertise their services.

San Diego resident Anthony Michaels had been a free member of Classmates.com since last year. However, the site—like dating sites that offer paid membership tiers—doesn't let you do anything all that interesting with the free tier. In order to see who has been looking at your profile and read messages from other members, users must first upgrade to a Gold Membership. That's when Michaels said he was tricked. He said that he began receiving messages from Classmates.com claiming that old classmates of his had been looking at his profile and trying to get in touch with him through the site. If only he would fork over some cash for a paid membership, he could see those messages and reconnect with that old high school crush!

Who could resist such a temptation? Michaels couldn't, and that's why he finally paid up in hopes of reading all those messages that his classmates had been sending him. Upon doing so and logging in, however, he was greeted with crushing disappointment. Not a single message was waiting for him in his Classmates.com inbox, and none of the people who had been viewing his profile were ones he knew or was familiar with.

Classmates.com: Tricking you into
subscribing since 1995?

Michaels was understandably irked, which is why he filed his lawsuit against the company at the end of October on behalf of himself and others who have subscribed because of these e-mails from Classmates.com. Michaels accuses the site of intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, and fraudulent concealment. He also says that the site is in violation of the California Business and Professions Code.

Classmates.com "knew at all times that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates when they... made false representations regarding the attempted contacts," reads the complaint. "The Defendants... intended to deceive, and did deceive Plaintiff and the Class by concealing and failing to disclose the fact that the individuals, members, and/or users who were making attempts to contact Plaintiff and the Class were not former classmates."

As a result, Michaels hopes that a judge will approve his case as a class-action and award general, special, and punitive damages to him and the rest of the class. He also asks for injunctive relief against Classmates.com, as well as restitution, attorney's fees, and pre- and post-judgment interest.

At first glance, it certainly seems as if Michaels has a case against the company, but this isn't just any false advertising claim. A number of websites—especially dating sites—use similar tactics to nudge people into paying, so a win for Michaels could change how these sites advertise their services. Even a simple change, like adding the name of the person trying to contact you, would make things better, as it would at least show that the person is real and allow the potential customer to make a judgment call on whether to subscribe (and offer proof that the person is real, too).